E1DA 9038S Gen 3 Released !! Comparison with Gen 2

After the humongous success of E1DA 9038S Gen 2 and PowerDAC V2, the brand has launched the E1DA 9038S Gen 3 improving over the shortcomings of the gen 2. The E1DA Gen 3 has a similar build to the Gen 2 with anodized aluminum alloy material. It features the same ES9038Q2M DAC chip and outputs through a 2.5mm balanced port. The Gen 3 now features PCM decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, DSD up to DSD256 natively. It has UAC2 hardware volume control with 127 steps of volume on PCM and DSD. The E1DA Gen 3 takes input via the USB Type-C port and supports Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux. The performance of this latest Gen 3 is equal to Topping E30 and D50s Desktop DACs. It is priced at 88$, check out more details here. You can also check more details about the E1DA official store page on Aliexpress here.

Please note:-

Never use any 2.5mm/3.5mm adapters with the E1DA Gen 3 as this might damage the DAC.

Features:-

>Black Sandblasted Anodized CNC Aluminium Body.

>New USB Bridge.

>ES9028Q2M DAC Setup with AD8397 Chip.

>USB Type C Input.

>PCM Decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, DSD up to DSD256 natively.

>2.5mm Balanced Output.

>E1DA Tweak App on Android Systems.

>Output Impedance: 0.05 Ohms.

>Frequency Response: 10Hz-100kHz.

>Standby Mode.

Unmatched Sound Quality Output:-

The E1DA Gen 3 brings the already awesome sound quality on the Gen 2 to the next level. It features the same premium DAC chip, ES9039Q2M. The E1DA features an all-new upgraded USB bridge that enables the Gen 3 to decode PCM up to 32-Bit/384kHz, and DSD up to DSd256 natively. It is one of the very few USB Type C DAC/AMPs that can decode up to DSD256 natively. They have strongly reduced Electromagnetic interference(EMI) resulting in reduced static LTE noise. There are now 4 layered PCB instead of 2 on the previous-gen improving the distortion under heavy load. They have also improved the signal to noise ratio, THD+N, and dynamic range, ensuring the best sound quality output to the end-user. The new USB bridge also allows the users to update the firmware on the device using USB ports.

Balanced Output with Ultra Low Output Impedance for Sensitive IEMs:-

The E1DA Gen 3 has a balanced 2.5mm output port with monstrous output power and ultra-low output impedance. It can power anything from highly sensitive IEMs to power demanding buds and headphones with ease. The DAC shows no background noise or hiss even with ultra-sensitive IEMs.

Extended Frequency Response Range:-

With support for PCM 32/384 and DSD256, The E1DA Gen 3 has extended its frequency response range for up to 100kHz. Previously on the last-gen, it was up to 85kHz.

New Standby Mode:-

The E1DA Gen 3 features a standby mode when music is paused for more than 2 minutes. If you pause or stop playing your music for more than 2 minutes the device goes into power-saving standby mode and drains low power from the source.

No Audio Modes Via LED, E1DA Tweaks App With Multiple Settings:-

The audio modes in the previous model are now gone. The E1DA Gen 3 by default runs on performance mode(No delay). The LED light now reflects the file type being played, like if 44.1kHz file, is being played the LED blinks once every 2 seconds, or 88.2kHz files 1 time per second, and so on. Now the users have given the freedom to control the DAC chip with the android “E1DA Tweak” app. It features presets manager, harmonics distortions compensation, Nyquist’s filter selection, MasterClock frequency, and more. Most of thee parameters could depend on HW volume, of Audio Data Rate, etc. It means now you can tune the DAC chip as per your sound tuning preference and save it as a preset.

Differences between Gen 2 and Gen 3:-

Even though both the devices have quite similar specs there are some improved features on Gen 2.

>New USB Bridge.

>Gen 3 features PCM decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, and DSD up to DSD256 natively while the Gen 2 only supported PCM up to 24-Bit/192kHz.

>Gen 3 has an extended frequency response range of up to 100kHz while Gen 2 has a frequency response range of up to 85kHz.